[nextpage title=”intro” ]

“11 Songs All About the Floor” features music courtesy of Bruno Mars, Jon Pardi, Liam Payne, ODESZA, and XXXTENTACION among others.

“Dance the night away / Live your life and stay young on the floor.”  Sounds like a plan Jennifer Lopez – sounds like a plan.  The plan with this particular playlist – 11 Songs All About the Floor? Well, it is exactly what the title says – feature songs that somehow involve the floor.  Yeah, perhaps it’s not the most inspired concept, but hey, we’ve managed to put together a list of 11, worthwhile songs that will definitely make the floor happy…something like that.  Artists featured on this particular list include Bruno Mars, Jon Pardi, Liam Payne, ODESZA, and XXXTENTACION.

---

[/nextpage][nextpage title=”1-4″ ]

1. Liam Payne, “Bedroom Floor”

Bedroom Floor – Single • Capitol • 2018

“You be saying real, real nice, real nice things / When I’m touching you / You be getting real, real, real, real, real jealous / When it wasn’t you, oh…” On his second official single as a solo artist, “Bedroom Floor”, pop artist Liam Payne proves that falsetto can be a powerful thing.  “Bedroom Floor” features urban-electro-pop production and compels with its use of a four-on-the-floor beat and a steel drum (synth) that adds a tropical touch. Payne delivers clear vocals throughout, employing his middle register throughout the verse and most of the pre-chorus (aforementioned).

That falsetto kicks in on the catchy, repetitive chorus:

“You said it was over

You said it was over

But your clothes say different on my bedroom floor

You said it was over

You said it was over

But your clothes say different on my bedroom floor

You said it was over, you said it was over

But your clothes say different on my bedroom floor…”

Liam Payne, ‘Bedroom Floor’ | Track Review

---

2. Cody Jinks, “7^th Floor”

Lifers • Rounder • 2018 

“From the seventh-floor window sometimes I swear I see it all / From which way the wind blows to how we’re all bound to fall.” Country musician Cody Jinks excels at bringing the past to the present on his eighth album, Lifers. Notably, throughout Lifers, Jinks oscillates between slower and faster tempi. “7^th Floor” continues his incredible knack of contrast – slow and fast, as well as dark and happy. All traces of Honky-tonk happiness are erased with the foreboding organ that commences the record.  Furthermore, chilling backing vocals add to the mood, as Jinks is clearly and crazily willing to do whatever, “To get to you.”

Cody Jinks, Lifers | Album Review

---

3. XXXTENTACION, “Floor 555”

? • Bad Vibes Forever / EMPIRE • 2018

“Fuckboy, don’t test me!” Wow, quite a bold way to close out “Floor 555,” the sixth track from the final album released while XXXTENTACION was alive, ?. “Floor 555” features boisterous, hard-nosed production, and equally tough rhymes.  If XXXTENTACION had been restrained up until this point of ?, that’s not definitely not the case on this one-minute-and-a-half joint.

“‘Cause I’m a muhfuckin’ martian, in the heart of a mosh pit
Put that boy in a coffin, ‘cause the way that he talkin’
Pussy boy, don’t be gawkin’, I ain’t doin’ no barkin’
I’ma let that shit rip, leave his ass in the parkin’.”

XXXTENTACION, ? | Album Review

---

4. Tory Lanez, “48 Floors”

Ft. Mansa

Memories Don’t Die • Interscope • 2018

“Liquor poured up, women called up, fuck it all up, oh yeah / In the condo, you know how it go / Give it up, so.” On “48 Floors,” Canadian rapper/singer Tory Lanez builds a song around shallow things – Wraith-talk and sex-talk. Following a low-key first verse (excerpted above), he’s much more energetic on the second verse.  

 

“We found love in the club, what you call that?

We wound up in the tub, and I bossed that

We still fuckin’ on the bed, ‘til later

We still got this shit lit, 48 floors.”

Featured guest Mansa pop-raps on the third verse over a contrasting backdrop, thanks to a beat switch (“On the 48^th floor, keep that body on Dasani like it’s off a lakeshore, yeah”).

Tory Lanez, Memories Don’t Die | Album Review 💿

---

[/nextpage][nextpage title=”5-8″ ]

5. Jeezy, “Floor Seats”

Ft. 2 Chainz

Pressure • Def Jam • 2017

“She know that paper good, know that paper good / Might blow a few dollars, boy, that’s on the hood / Let’s get it understood / Hawk game, floor seats, yeah she on the wood.” On “Floor Seats,” the fourth song from Pressure, the eighth studio album by Jeezy, he’s assisted by the always entertaining 2 Chainz. As always, Jeezy is profane and T.A.T.W.T.F.U. (all the way the fuck up).

A prime example is his unapologetic, opening verse:

“Real bitch, all she fuck is real nigga

Real bitch, all she want is real figures

Bitch, hustle all day, she got a good job

But I don’t trust her late, brother he a straight job.”

As for 2 Chainz, he’s true to himself too, in the only way that 2 Chainz can be.

“You ain’t getting’ money? Sorry for your mishaps
WNBA, you ‘bout to get bitch slapped
Fuck the ‘Kissing Cam,’ they need to have ‘Shoe Cam’
Last game, the shoes I had on cost 2 grand.”

Jeezy, Pressure | Album Review 💿

---

6. ODESZA, “Thin Floors and Tall Ceilings”

A Moment Apart • Counter • 2017 

If you’ve somehow managed to miss out on electronic duo ODESZA, you need to atone for your lack of ‘woken-ness’ that and totally check them out. In 2017, the Seattle duo comprised of Harrison Mills (aka Catacombkid) and Clayton Knight (aka BeachesBeaches) released their third studio album, A Moment Apart.  That gem was nominated for two Grammys – Best Dance Recording for the awesome “Line of Sight” (with WYNNE and Mansionair) and Best Dance/Electronic Album.  Also featured on the same album was instrumental “Thin Floors and Tall Ceilings,” a perfect fit for this floor-centric list.

Sure, we place plenty of emphasis on lyrics, but ODESZA needs none here.  The gorgeous instrumental of “Thin Floors and Tall Ceilings” makes for a formidable tone poem.  The palette of synths, pads, and drum programming are elite, and most importantly, superbly blended and arranged. The strings in particular are lush and warm, giving off a certain ambience that truly feels tall – majestic to the nth degree. This is ear candy – ‘all ages admitted’ – at its finest.

---

7. John Legend, “Penthouse Floor”

Ft. Chance the Rapper

Darkness and Light • Columbia • 2016

“All this trouble in this here town / All this shit going down / When will they focus, on this?” Following the gospel-infused opener “I Know Better,” “Penthouse Floor” gives Darkness and Light its first taste of groove. A hard, soulful hip-hop beat initiates the record, giving it its biggest selling point.  As always, John Legend delivers clear vocals that are both soulful and accurate, particularly on the memorable chorus.

“Maybe we should go

Go to the penthouse floor (let’s go, let’s go, let’s go)

Go to the penthouse floor (let’s go, let’s go, let’s go)

Let’s ride the elevator, they can’t keep us out no more

Go to the penthouse floor (let’s go, let’s go, let’s go)

Penthouse floor.”

Additionally, his lead vocals are amplified by harmonized backing vocals throughout.  The harmonic scheme hails directly from the soul catalogue, retaining a pipeline to the past. A left-field appearance by Chance the Rapper brilliantly embraces and invites the hip-hop generation in.  His most memorable lines close out his verse:

“He said, ‘What happened to the boy that climbed up the trunk?’

Then he pushed me off the top and said, ‘Jump, nigga, jump!’” 

John Legend Shines on ‘Darkness and Light’

---

8. Jon Pardi, “Heartache on the Dancefloor”

California Sunrise • Capitol Nashville • 2016

“She was a heartache on the dance floor / Yeah, she’s moving through my mind / I gotta know her name and I gotta see her again / She’s got me wondering, yeah, I’m just wondering…” Perhaps the state of California isn’t the first place that comes to mind when thinking about country music.  Despite the location, the state has provided listeners with quite a few contemporary country artists, including Brett Young, Devin Dawson, and the musician on hand, Jon Pardi.  Pardi provides us with the second country record gracing this list, the groovy, infectious “Heartache on the Dancefloor.” “Heartache on the Dancefloor” appears on Pardi’s sophomore album, California Sunrise.

The premise of “Heartache on the Dancefloor” is pretty simple.  Pardi sees a girl that catches his eye at a bar (in California of course), but he never finds out who his “little mystery” is.  Obviously, it drives his little heart crazy, even if they never interact.  While it may be silly, it’s honestly not far-fetched.

---

[/nextpage][nextpage title=”9-11″ ]

9. Bruno Mars, “Versace on the Floor”

24K Magic • Atlantic • 2016

“So, baby, let’s just turn down the lights / And close the door / Ooh, I love that dress / But you won’t need it anymore / No you won’t need it no more / Let’s just kiss ‘til we’re naked, baby.” Bruno Mars delivers a sensational ballad with “Versace on the Floor”, a crowning achievement of his highly-decorated, Grammy-winning third LP, 24K Magic.  Here, Mars fully embraces the 80s.

He delivers beautiful vocals, arguably some of the best of his career.

“Versace on the floor

Oooh, take it off for me, for me, for me, for me now, girl

Versace on the floor

Oooh, take it off for me, for me, for me, for me now, girl.”

In the context of 24K Magic, “Versace on the Floor” is yet another song that centers around sex. Even so, Mars incorporate legit emotions. Another key feature is a modulation aka key change, common in 80s R&B. Here, the key change allows Mars to further soar vocally.

https://themusicalhype.com/bruno-mars-24k-magic-review/

---

10. The Lumineers, “Sleep on the Floor”

Cleopatra • Dualtone • 2016

“Pack yourself a toothbrush dear / Pack yourself a favorite blouse / Take a withdrawal slip, take all of your savings out / ‘Cause if we don’t leave this town / We might never make it out…” The Lumineers commence their sophomore LP, Cleopatra, mysteriously with “Sleep on the Floor.” In the context of Cleopatra, “Sleep on the Floor” precedes the main attraction, better known as “Ophelia”.  Perhaps it’s not quite on the same level, “Sleep on the Floor” encompasses plenty: relationships, religion, living carefree and free-spirited, progress and success. While the phrase isn’t uttered, there’s definitely an element of ‘sleeping on the floor’ and roughing it until finding footing and such.

“If the sun don’t shine on me today

And if the subways flood and bridges break

Will you lay yourself down and dig your grave

Or will you rail against your dying day.”

---

11. Justin Timberlake, “Blue Ocean Floor”

The 20/20 Experience • RCA • 2013

“Frequencies so low / Heart on a string / A string that plays only solos / Rain made of echoes / Tidal wave rushing on and on.” Sigh, “Blue Ocean Floor” is arguably the most mysterious record from the first volume of The 20/20 Experience, the long-awaited 2013 comeback album from Justin Timberlake. Here, Timberlake continues the emphasis of love that dominates the LP.

Timberlake turns up the poetry:

“If my red eyes don’t see you anymore

And I can’t hear you through the white noise

Just send your heartbeat I’ll go to the blue ocean floor

Where they find us no more / on that blue ocean floor…”

The vibe is creative and appropriately placed at the end of the album.

---

Photo Credits: Atlantic, Bad Vibes Forever, Capitol, Capitol Nashville, Columbia, Counter, Dualtone Music Group, EMPIRE, Interscope, Pixabay, RCA, Rounder

---

[/nextpage]